Ice-making apparatus.



J. B. HOWE. ICE MAKING APPARATUS. APPLIUATION PILBD Do.4,1909.

Patented 9ct. 8, 90.

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J. B, HOWE.

ICE MAKING APPARATUS. APPLIOAHON FILED 920.4,19o9- Patented Oct. 18,1910.

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irai porlion oi: lille filed Beeernber i To if whom i 'muy remera:

le it known ila l, leen lewin a ei-izen of the U er rein Nashville, inLlie lola 1 Stare of 'Te-nnen: inveneel new and ueeiul im j; .flipperoai; ioni This invention id useful iin:r erenienre in iee ina reinses ofih i; general type wir evo a hariery of Water couru-inni eene une meansier produeing the eireulairu of e. ri-i' rigerant eo eongeal the u'arerin the cane,

The obje-etui) elle invention in an iznprored apl'iaratue in which theinne' neeefseary for the production or" he iee is redueed aboutv si\f'eiii'.'i'i\'e per eenl.; rile eapaeity el the plant increased; tl' iiee produeedfis ol superior grade; and ihe cosi; oi' iuealiation ie lesethan thai; the known eyeeme.

lilinlieiliinene oi Ailie invention are illnetralefzl, hy 'an i ofexample, in llie aeeoinpanying` drawing'e, \.\f'lierein- Figure l. alongitudinal sectional View of an ajjiparatus in ae 'ordai'iee withlhepre ent in .'entiong 2 a transverse Sectional View thereof; lT l. atop plan View, partly in geel/ion Fig is a detail perspective vien' of a'areV eoulaining eau, with a mill lirolqen away lo ehow ihe interiorooneruoiion; a a eeniial vertical eeelion of eueh a can; ihie` ligurealso ehows, in derail, the reiaien of the can and a oirenlaiiingheader;Fig. (i i5 a detail creer; section of the boiteux portion oil the een,lfigge. i", S and i) are eenlral vertical eeeiional vienne oi aliernaive'Forum or eene.

Similar friiaraeirrs ol" lelforrnee designate eoireepondingr parisihronghoui Lhe several vieu/'5,

Referring more parieularly lo Fien. l, 2 and il, ghe iluneral ldesignates a lianl; in whirl) ln'ine or any oiher ri-vrieeralii'ig mix`lure ie eeniaii'ii, or circulated, and the numeral 2 desi-fname canewlaieli are aringed al, suitable inervale in lhiA lanl, and whicheonlain wah-r 'us he frozen into blocks of ice. i

ilaeh een L ai provided willi an ixderiorly locali-:d arrangement foreondxuzling the refrigera'ing medium ihrozifgrli 'he new ln this manner'ue lzody nl u'alor ren.` yeeued, ennui(aneously, lo i'l influe/nee ofille rei'iigersui in ine l/ anli and ifo une influence of therefrigerant circulating through ehe eau and hence 1S, at the same time,irozen from the walls of the can inward, and

llrein 1lhe center lo the can outward. The inne of eengelation is thusmaterially reduced and` the. uniformity and superior grade of theproduct is assured.

lin *ehe example shown in Figs, l to 5, ihe arrangement for Conductingthe refrigeran; through the central portion of the can *s of a loox, as3, which is .arranged centrally. in each can, being wholly 1neloeedtherein, and which has a central verri( l mer Wall of the hex anddividing (the lahgfr into communicating Circulating channels 5 and (l,ihe mixture flowing upwardly in the former and downwardly in the latter.The hex 3 at its upper end is provide@J with an air tulle, ae T, whichserves as a vent to prei/'enrI the trapping of air in the upper portionoi' the hex, an action which would retard the circulation of therefrigerant. The box Bali its lower end is provided with a pair ofdepending` nipples, 'as 8 and 9, which eoinn'iunieaie `with therespective ehannelel 5 and G and project through the liottoin of theeau; The refrigerant is admitted io the box through the nipple i,flowingv upwardly through vthe Channel 5 and downwardly through thechannel 3,

-and leavii'igr the boxihioug'h the nipple 9.

o rows, lateral headers, l1, are connected to the manifold l0, eaehheader ll, eiitendingg,` under a row of cans and Supply/nur therefrigerant which flows through the boxes` 3. ihe refrigerant, when itleaves the boxes Si, flows directly into the tank l, thus eaueiirelr acontinuous agitation and Circulation ol3 ldie contents ol. the latter.The tank'l jjnovdf-.d with an outlet pipe, as l, which ie suitablyeonneeted to the pumping eppa Patna in a manner to complete the eireuiation syetein. The headers ll are eaeh provided with nipples, as ifi, andwith flanges, as l5, eireuinseribing the nipplee. (See F 5.) 'lhenipples lll project loosely into the nippleel S and the flanges l5 aordseats 'For the latter. By virtue oi' the described rele.; tion of thenipples, the cane may be readily removed and replaced, the eireulaLionof fhe par-ition, as 4, terniinaling` short ofnections of a positivecharacter are dispcnsed with.

To guard against loss of the refrigerant as it enters the box 3 and aconsequent waste of power, it is preferred to employ a positive sealingmeans, shown in detail in Fig. 5, and consisting of a gasket, as 12,which is 'fitted inv a cup-shaped ring, as 13, that is threaded upon thenipple 8, the gasket 12 vbearing against the flange 15.

In order. to center the lcans with relation to the nipples 14,vertically disposed angle iron guides, as 16, are provided (see Fig. 3).The corner portions of the cans conformably ht into these guides, asshown. Consequently, in placing the cans in the tank, the path of theirdownward movement is determined by the guides and it follows that when.the cans have reached the termination of their downward movement, thenipples 8 surround the nip les 14.

Inv order to strengthen t e structure, the

bottom 2b, of each can, consists of a cast orv malleable iron late,having `a depending circumscribing" ange, as 17, which is riveted orotherwise secured to the sides of the can and having a central opening,receiving the lower portion of the box 3, and bounded by a dependingange, as 18, which is riveted or otherwise secured to the sides andbottom of the box. The bottom of the box 3 likewise consists of a castor malleable casting 3a, between which and the flange 18 the verticalwalls of the box are fitted, as shown in detail in Fig. 6.

In the alternative arrangement shown in Fi 7, the box, instead of havinga cenJ tragl partition wall, as 4, has two vertically disposedpartition. walls, as 4a, which ter.

minato short of the upper end of the box and divide the same into threecommunicating circulation channels. The centralchanne, as 5, correspondsAto the channel 5 in the first arrangement described, in that the brinefirst enters thereinto through a nipple, as 8, in communication with aheader 11 in the manner describedl and flows upwardly. The channels ateach side of the boX, as 6, correspond to the channel 6, in that thebrine flows downwardly therethrough and leaves the box through nipples,as 9a, the diameters of which are proportioned with respect to thediameter of the nipple 8a. The refrigerant passing through the nipples9, flows directly into thetank 1 and produces a continuous agitation andcirculation of the contents of the latter.

In the arrangement shown in Fig. 8, the box 3 is not employed. In lieuthereof, I employ a centrally located vertical open ended pipe, as 19,1n communication, in the manner described, with aA header 11, and havingattached to its up 'ef-end a flexible hose section, as 20. Y'Ihelsection 2O hangs goose-neck fashion, over a side wall of the can anddischarges the refrigerant which 'as a nipple. In this figure I haveshown a slight variation in the circulating system, which consists inemploying a return manifold, as 22, (shown in dotted lines) which issuitably connected to the pump, and lateral headers, as 23, whichproject from the manifold 22 under the several rows of cans, inparallelism with the headers 11. The headers 23 are related to theoutletl ends of the several coils in the same manner that the headers 22are related to the inlet ends thereof.

In all of the forms described, after the treatment in the freezing tank,the cans are transferred to a thawing tank, similar in all respects tothe freezing tank, except perhaps, that it may be of smaller capacity,and hot water is circulated ,through the arrangements within the cansand'through the tank in the same manner that brine was circulated in.the freezing operation, to thaw the iceY sufficiently to provide for itsready removal in block form, from 'the can without clinging to the wallsthereof or to the inclosed box,

pipe, coil, or other interior conducting arrangement.

The improved apparatus herein described has, in actual practice, beenfound to accomplish. all that is herein claimed. Not only is the initialcost of installation Inaterially reduced but the cost of the plant as awhole is lessened since materiali. less floor space, per ton of ice, isrequire than in the standard arrangements, owing to the fact that thearrangement provides for an efficient product in cans of greater'capacity, and hence of smaller number, per ton bat- `tery. The cost ofthe tanks is proportionately reduced. Moreover, in the use of thestandard systems, the central portions of the I ice cakes arereticulated with air cells. In the use of the present system, thetrapped air is not confined in the heart of the cake but is evenlydistributed therethrough. A superior product of uniform grade 1s thusproduced.

Having fully described my invention, I claim:

-1. In an ice making apparatus, a tank, a plurality of water containingcansv disposed therein, refrigerant conducting means withdischarginginto the tank.

2. In` an ice making apparatus, 4a tank, a brine circulating headerextending across the bottom thereof, a plurality of freezing cans'arranged in the tank, each can having a.

closed bottom and having an interior brine conducting means, the inletand outlet of which extends through said bottom, the inlets of the brine'conducting means having operative association with the header but beingwithout positive attachment thereto.

3. In an ice making apparatus, a freezing can comprising vertical sheetmetal walls, a cast iron bottom tted within the walls at their lowerends and positively attached thereto, and a brine conducting meansdisposed within the walls, carried by said bottom and having an inletwhich extends through said bottom.

4. In an ice making apparatus, a tank, a brine conducting headerextend'lg across the bottom of the tank, a plurality of freezing cansremovably supported in the tank, and a brine circulating means withineach can and provided with an inlet connection which is detachably andoperatively associated with the header.

In testimony whereof l have hereunto set my hand in vpresence of twosubscribing witnesses.

JOHN B. HowE.

Witnesses:

CHAs. S. HYER, J oHN S. POWERS.

